Overall:
This thing rocks!
Jackson has outdone themselves with this little gem. I found myself in need of another guitar after my trusty old Charvel model 2 ended up with a slight twist in the neck and would no longer stay in tune properly. So being a long time Jackson player I was going to get the JS22 Dinky, until I saw the Monarkh. But there were no reviews. So I thought to myself. "It's a Jackson how bad could it be?" Not bad at all actually! It's fantastic! The fit and finish are top notch, I paid the extra for the trans red with the quilt top and it's absolutely gorgeous. It sounds fantastic. The humbucking pickups are extra hot while still maintaining that vintage-y fat tone they sound great clean as well as distorted through my Randall RG80 and are completely quiet, something I have NEVER seen in a guitar this price.
Setup out of the box was good but the b string buzzed a tad at the first fret which was a very easy fix now the action is so low you can use the weight of a single finger to fret a note absolutely no effort required and not a thing buzzes or frets out, there are no dead frets. The compound radius fretboard is subtle but nice.
Tune o magic style bridge does what it's supposed to do.
Neck binding is a nice touch, not a single sharp fret end. Neck seems to play as good as any Jackson I've ever played and that includes USA models.
Tuners are good and do what they are supposed to do.
The controls stay out of the way while being easily accessible. All in all I am very, very impressed that 250 US dollars paid for this little rocket ship to rock.
Buy this guitar! Seriously. Whether you're a student or seasoned player.
Pros: great neck, pickups, fit and finish, tuners, and controls
Cons: Initial setup was slightly off but it's far better than any new guitar in this price range's factory setup I have seen. The only other con is that I don't have two, but that's soon to change.

Sound:
The pups are hotter than i expected for a cheaper guitar. With high gain and some 5th's it rocks! If your a beginner, and like rock/metal, you will love it. And it has great sustain. For a player that has played on more high end guitars with more$$$ pups in them, you will notice that it lacks tone, and the G and B string can sound harsh and not clear at all. Also with a clean sound the bridge and neck pup lacks tone and dosnt clean up very well without rolling back the tone and volume pot a little. My EMG 81X in my Ibanez SA sounds cleaner without rolling back the tone or volume. So if you plan on playing some country or just with a clean sound on your amp, dont expect much from this guitar without doing a pup swap. I bought this guitar without much expectations regarding the pups. Even though i was kinda impressed that they sounded as good as they did, I bought an EMG 81/85 the same day.
Feature:
Not really any "features" to review
Ease of Use:
It plays great! The neck plays wonderful and it frets real easy. Its a jackson, so the name should say it all!!
Quality:
Very well made. The neck, the body, the tuning machines, and the pots all feel really nice. And it stays in tune!! I have played several Slayer, Megadeth, and Alice in chains songs in a row, checked my tuning and its still right were it needed to be!
Value:
Well worth the cost
Manufacturer Support:
Didnt contact
The Wow Factor:
Not much "wow" factor, until I put the EMG 81/85 active pups in it, plugged in in my line 6 75 watt, put the volume straight up, Slayer, south of heaven! It Rocks!!!
Overall:
First of all, I opened the box, and found another box. Opened it, and yes another box. Got it opened and the guitar was wrapped in some foam wrapping nice and well protected. care was taken ti make sure it wasnt damaged in shipping. I was really happy with this. The guitar looks real nice. Neck feels and plays great. I had to smooth the edges on the nut a little. There was a sharp point on top and bottom of it that wasnt very kind to my hand when i would go from the 17th fret to the 1st at 130 BPS. Over all im very happy with how it plays for a cheaper guitar. And when i say cheaper, i dont mean lower quality. The quality of this guitar is there. The pots feel firm and smooth. the toggle Feels nice too. The tuning machines feel really really good. And stays in tune through many heavy metal songs played back to back. The pups are good, and bad. More about that below. The strings that came on it was changed right away. Im not sure what kind they are, but i didnt like them. Im an E.B. extra slinky person.

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